The Nuggets were widely lauded for the moves they made last offseason. The first domino to fall was a cost-cutting maneuver, as Denver traded Michael Porter Jr. and an unprotected 2031 first-round pick to the Nets for Cameron Johnson.
Swapping out Porter's $38.3MM cap hit for Johnson's $21.6MM saved the Nuggets a significant amount of money in 2025/26 and will do the same in 2026/27, when there will be a similar cap disparity between the two players ($40.8MM for Porter vs. $23.1MM for Johnson).
Since depth had been an issue for the Nuggets the past few years, their priority last summer was building out their roster with veterans who could play real minutes. They signed Tim Hardaway Jr. and Bruce Brown to minimum-salary contracts, then traded Dario Saric to Sacramento for Jonas Valanciunas.
The final big 2025 offseason move for Denver was signing Christian Braun to a five-year, $125MM rookie scale extension shortly before the season started. The Nuggets prioritized locking up Braun, a full-time starter who had a strong third season, over fellow 2022 first-round pick Peyton Watson, who is now headed for restricted free agency.
Denver got off to an excellent start to the 2025/26 campaign, with a 20-6 record that belied the fact that Braun (serious ankle sprain) and Aaron Gordon (hamstring strain) both got hurt in November. Then Johnson (knee sprain/bone bruise) went down in late December, followed by Nikola Jokic (knee sprain/bone bruise) and Valanciunas (calf strain) a few days later. Each player missed multiple weeks.
Jokic was having a career year to that point, and while disaster was certainly averted, his numbers went from otherworldly historic to merely terrific. He wound up appearing in a career-low 65 games, including having to play in the final contest of the season to qualify for major postseason awards. The Serbian superstar tied an NBA record co-held by Celtics legends Bill Russell and Larry Bird by finishing either first or second (he was runner-up again) in MVP voting for a sixth consecutive season.
Watson, the primary beneficiary of all the injury absences, was having a career year prior to suffering a hamstring strain just before the trade deadline in early February. He showed real upside as an on-ball scorer and cutter on top of his defensive instincts, length, athleticism and versatility, which is why the team wants to retain him this summer.
Despite all the injuries -- Braun and Gordon combined to play 80 games, while Johnson and Watson played 54 apiece -- and a mediocre stretch in the middle of the season, the Nuggets ended the year on a 12-game winning streak and entered the playoffs as the No. 3 seed after going 54-28. Jamal Murray played a major role in the team's success, appearing in 75 games and posting terrific numbers en route to his first All-Star and All-NBA (third team) appearances.
The Nuggets' first-round opponent was one of their division rivals, the Timberwolves, who eliminated the Denver in the Western Conference semifinals in a seven-game series in 2024. The Nuggets were attempting to defend their title at the time, having won their first championship the year before.
Denver's lack of size, athleticism and defense against Minnesota this postseason was jarring. Jaden McDaniels not only prevented Murray from having any kind of offensive success with his smothering defense, he also targeted the Canadian guard on the other end of the floor. And Jokic had the least efficient playoff series of his career against Rudy Gobert. Crucially, Gobert was daring Jokic to shoot, and the superstar center converted just 19.4% of his 6.0 three-point attempts per game.
Injuries were a factor for both teams, with Watson missing the whole series and Gordon suffering yet another soft-tissue injury in Game 2. Donte DiVincenzo tore his Achilles tendon at the start of Game 4 for Minnesota, and Anthony Edwards sprained his knee later in that same contest. But the Wolves were the mentally, emotionally and physically tougher team, winning the series in six games.
After a disappointing first-round exit, the Nuggets have to figure out what steps to take with an aging core that will only get more expensive going forward.
The Nuggets' Offseason Plans
The main reason Denver's roster projects to be far more expensive going forward is the fact that Jokic will be eligible this summer for an extension that will pay him a projected $285MM over four years. He's reportedly expected to sign the deal after reiterating following the team's postseason elimination that he wants to be a "Nugget forever."
However, outside of Jokic, everything could potentially be on the table for the Nuggets, as president Josh Kroenke acknowledged at his end-of-season press conference. Murray and Gordon notably can't be ruled out as possible trade candidates after playing vital roles in the team's success for the better part of the past decade. A more likely outcome has long been presumed to be shedding Johnson's salary to re-sign Watson, though that's far from a fait accompli.
Big balls moment for the Kroenkes and the folks who run the Nuggs day to day. They will not win another title in the Jokic era if they muddle along. Even if they go into the 2nd apron to re-sign Watson (who is an absolute stud btw). Or if they trade Johnson to make it happen. All that just avoids the problem, which is that their guards aren’t quick or physical enough in the current NBA, especially the playoffs. Doesn’t help that Jokic isn’t a shot-blocker (although he is a very good defender in general).
They have to trade Murray. It’s the only way out of the box.